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University of the Pacific3601 Pacific AvenueStockton, California 95211209.946.2011

Support Early Literacy

Recognizing that a child's reading ability at the end of third grade is critical to future success, Pacific and our partners in the Beyond Our Gates initiative are committed to improving early literacy and learning in San Joaquin County. Our goals are ambitious, but working together we are on the path toward achieving them.

There are many ways you can help. The following organizations and programs seek contributions of time, supplies and funds to help expand and enhance their important early literacy work:

Books on Buses

San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) will equip buses with crates filled with books for children to read while riding the bus or to take home. RTD will officially implement and publicize the Books on Buses program in August 2015.Needs: Funding - Sponsorships ranging from $100 to $750, will help SJRTD purchase books and the materials to install the Books on Buses crates; Supplies - The program also seeks gently-used books, with a target age group of infant through 3rd grade.Contact:Tara Gallegos

Every Day Counts

Open to all elementary school students in San Joaquin County, Pacific's Every Day Counts Attendance Challenge encourages families to get to school on time every day. The program also aims to draw awareness to challenges that increase absenteeism, such as poor oral health, asthma and lack of transportation.Needs:Supplies - Prizes are needed as incentives forstudents who achieve perfect attendance.Contact:Mike Klocke

Reach Out and Read San Joaquin

Reach Out and Read San Joaquin advances health and literacy among low-income children by equipping and training doctors to distribute books and deliver literacy advice during routine well-child visits. Parents are essentially given a prescription to read to their children and the tools to take home and do so. Needs:Funding - Contributions help sustain the impact of the program with a dedicated coordinator. Funding is also needed to extend the program to new sites and for book inventory.Contact:Susan Spracher

Read to Me, Stockton!

In partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Read to Me, Stockton! sends free age-appropriate books each month to registered children, ages 0 to 5, in four Stockton zip codes: 95202, 95205, 95206 and 95210. Volunteers register children and raise funds for books, while the Dollywood Foundation purchases and mails the books at a cost of $2 each.Needs:Time - Volunteers can serve on the planning committee, raise money for books, or help register children at community events; Funding - A donation of $25 pays for free books for one child for one year. To expand the program into all Stockton zip codes and to all young children, the program needs to raise $500,000 each year; Supplies/Expertise - The program needs help in the areas of marketing, accounting and legal. Read to Me, Stockton! has no paid staff.Contact:Ann Johnston

San Joaquin Reads

Through a combination of face-to-face workshops and a public awareness campaign, Pacific's San Joaquin Reads initiative is empowering parents and caregivers to support early literacy every day.Needs:Funding - Contributions are used to purchase children's books for participants, to pay for billboards and other advertising, and to support program evaluation; Time - Organizations that serve families are invited to be trained to host parent-child story times. Contact:Mike Klocke

Stockton Summer United (SSU)

Through this collaborative program, led by Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, children living in South Stockton's Sierra Vista and Conway Homes communities receive literacy tutoring, enrichment, healthy meals and visits from local leaders for six weeks during the summer. Needs:Funding - Contributions are needed to purchase books and classroom supplies; Time - The program seeks volunteers to tutor and read to children; Supplies - The program seeks donations of backpacks, new books and other incentives for children.Contact:Jessica Quan